


even after all this time (i’m still into you)

by icedpocarie



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, All the sides of the love square, F/M, Fluff, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, very very self-indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27061936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedpocarie/pseuds/icedpocarie
Summary: For all the changes that come after, there is one thing that continues to stay the same: Adrien always meets Marinette halfway.alternatively: vignettes of marinette's and adrien’s life post-reveal
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 13
Kudos: 66





	even after all this time (i’m still into you)

I.

The moment after Ladybug and Chat Noir revealed themselves was far too anticlimactic. It felt like a dishonor to the dreams of the Adrien from a year ago, the one with the reckless energy that loved the freedom the power gave him.

He imagined that it would be a momentous occasion with them declaring their love for each other during the reveal, tears in their eyes as the other resurrects from the attack of an Akuma, exchanging promises that  _ it’s them against the world, always _ under the moonlight as their masks fade away. Instead, the reveal seemed stiff and formal.

Ladybug thought that it was time for them to know each other, that the secrecy was taking more out of their partnership than helping it. Chat Noir, as always, agreed.

He was never one for the masks anyway.

And that’s how one midnight, at the top of the tower, they both counted to three and revealed themselves to each other.

Ladybug’s mask gave way to Marinette’s warm, familiar face and Adrien couldn’t even pretend to be shocked.

He’d been seeing the signs, debating the possibility despite himself. Looking at Marinette’s almost unflustered expression, he knew that she probably felt the same way.

They met each other’s eyes and even as Plagg made an offhand comment Adrien’s mind didn’t register, even as Tikki pulled Plagg away  _ to give the kids a break, Plagg,  _ it was only when Marinette gave a small laugh that he found himself being grounded back to the situation.

“Hi, my name is Marinette,” she held out her hand – her lips curving upwards slightly like she was amused – and continued, “And I’m Ladybug.”

He knows,  _ obviously _ , he knows.

And yet he plays his part like he always does when it comes to her, and he meets her hand halfway in a laughably formal handshake as he introduces himself, “My name is Adrien and I’m Chat Noir.”

And even though he already had his suspicions beforehand, he really meant it when he added, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Marinette.”

II.

If Adrien thought that the reveal would change the dynamics between him and Marinette, well, he thought wrong.

Even though both of them were in separate classes now, they still spent a lot of time together because of Alya and Nino.

When he welcomes Marinette – tired and sleepy – to their table during lunch with a small canned coffee to hopefully perk her up during afternoon classes, she simply takes it with a mumbled  _ thanks, Adrien _ and flops her head on the table like usual.

When he catches Marinette in the halls, it’s the usual momentary touch of her elbow as they pass each other with rushed  _ hey  _ and  _ hi. _

When the weekend comes and he offers to go to her home for tutoring, she accepts gratefully like she usually does with a smile. Like always, they eat snacks prepared by her parents – sweets he usually wouldn’t be allowed to even taste – and they play a few rounds of games when they need to relax. It usually ended with his butt being kicked in-game.

A few weeks after the reveal, he finds himself sighing as he lays down on his bed.

Plagg, in a moment of whimsy, stops playing his recorded videos of a teenage drama as he complains, “Stop sighing so much, kid, the girls are fighting.”

“Mmmm,” Adrien hums before he thinks about the situation he is in again.

And isn’t he in a sigh-able situation? All things considered, he’s not asking for much. He knows the reveal wouldn’t lead to anything  _ too _ drastic – especially considering both sides had suspicions all along – but would it really hurt if something changed?

Like, just a little bit?

“God, you’re more dramatic than Blair,” Plagg comments and Adrien doesn’t even know who he’s being compared to, but he just sighs again if only to get Plagg’s attention.

His mind’s kind of murky and even though Plagg’s comments tend to get sassier than he usually would like, at least a conversation can keep his mind off things.

Usually.

But then his mouth betrays him the moment Plagg flies to his designated pillow and he mutters, “It’s just – I don’t know, I thought that the reveal would change things between me and Marinette.”

“Would you even want things to change between you and her, kid?” Plagg’s question hides a statement underneath, but he’s too tired to parse through it. The Kwami adds, “aren’t you guys already close?”

“Yes, but like,” Adrien brings up his hands and motions aimlessly, “Not Marinette and Adrien close but Ladybug and Chat Noir close, you know?”

All the  _ you and I against the world  _ and  _ Chaton  _ and  _ My Lady  _ and all the works, but Adrien doesn’t say it out loud because he thinks that Plagg already understands that it’s a given.

There’s a small pause of silence as Plagg just  _ stares _ at him before he shakes his head and dumps, “I  _ know _ that you are slow at times, Adrien.”

There’s an unspoken statement after that, but it’s something Adrien couldn’t receive properly and before he knows it, Plagg just flies back to watch his video. This time, with the volume turned at its loudest.

He couldn’t help it when he mumbles, “And you’re  _ such _ a help, Plagg.”

“I know, thank you.” Plagg replies easily as he states, “Now, stop sighing and go to sleep.”

III.

Sometimes, Adrien just feels cold and unloved and generally down. He knows better than to think that he  _ is _ unloved, but there are moments when he just does.

There are moments when he wonders if things went wrong because of him – if his mother left because of him, if his father turned to the ruthless workaholic that he was now because of him.

These are thoughts that Plagg and Ladybug – though she never knew the exact details – tried to banish over and over again, making him whole when they did. And as much as he tries to remember their encouraging words and genuine compliments, there just are times when he feels…

Down.

He tries not to show it in his face – hides his emotions better than he usually does – because he knows that Plagg would be able to tell at a single glance if he slipped up for even a minute.

He’s thankful that there’s class today. It meant that Plagg wouldn’t have the time to guide him through the vulnerability that he’s currently feeling. 

But unlike Plagg who had to hide in his pockets, Ladybug – Marinette – was out in the open.

He was only caught half-surprised when she pulled him to her at lunch, telling both Alya and Nino that Adrien was going to give her an emergency tutoring for a class or two.

She dragged him to the bakery in silence, but when they both reached her room – hands full with the food unceremoniously handed by her parents – she looks at Adrien straight in the eye and utters a soft, “Chaton, are you okay?

Marinette never addressed him as Chat unless he was in costume. She even said that it would be too risky to even let it slip in private. There had to be a clear line between Adrien and Marinette and Ladybug and Chat Noir because it would have been dangerous otherwise.

And yet, at this moment, Marinette chose to blur the boundaries by muttering the nickname. It was a small gesture, but it made Adrien feel more vulnerable. Her voice had sounded so soothing, too, that Adrien couldn’t help himself when he suddenly hugged her.

“I’m down,” he whispers, softly, as he puts his head on her shoulder, hands reaching out to embrace her with the kind of casual touch only their masked counterparts had held.

“It’s fine to feel down at times, you know,” Marinette doesn’t stutter or stiffen, but rather, she accepts the embrace as she places her hand on Adrien’s head, petting his hair in a comforting manner. She gently adds, “It’s always fine, Adrien.”

Adrien does not remember the specifics – there was definitely some crying, a moment of panic as both of them realized they were going to be late for their classes, a teary-eyed chomp at the snacks provided – but what he does remember is the feeling in his heart as the two of them ran back to the school, hands intertwined as they went about in the rush.

It’s the familiar feeling of  _ free-falling _ he’d only been acquainted with once.

It’s the feeling of  _ falling in love _ .

He wishes that it was among the things he doesn’t remember, but his heart is traitorous and the feeling smolders even as he tries to push it back.

IV.

Adrien had to wonder, at the back of his mind, if the universe was playing him. A  _ day _ after he fell for her  _ again _ , Marinette, out of the blue, said something that made him both hopeful and hopeless.

They were simply going over Physics and then she dropped the bomb when the two of them decided to take a break and just laze for a few minutes.

“I really liked you, you know.”

Marinette says this with a smile and even as her casual expression holds up, Adrien sees the tints of embarrassment and something else he can’t name.

Adrien is half-thankful that he just finished up the cupcake he was eating or he knows that he would’ve choked on it.

The thought of Marinette possibly liking him was something that had entered his mind way, way back before the reveal. The hints to it were hard to find, but once the thought of  _ oh, wait, maybe all this time, she liked me  _ planted inside his thoughts, it became hard to forget.

Her stuttering over every other word, her being clumsier than the usual – it was because she had a crush on him and not because he was someone she hated.

But just as before, the keyword is  _ liked. _

It’s past tense and maybe that’s why he never tried to delve further into those thoughts. It was much better to stay ignorant than to know, and then to consequently regret the missed cues and the leftover feelings.

He puts those thoughts away, though, because they were better mulled upon during sleepless nights and in his lonesome.

“You did?” Adrien asks back, and he hopes his voice is equally casual as he adds with a grin he usually wore as Chat Noir, “I  _ am _ pretty likeable, aren’t I?”

“Of course you are,” Marinette says playfully enough, and then she shakes her head, admitting, “But I also meant it in the like  _ like _ kind of way.”

There was a pause and then she cringes, “God, that made me sound like a kid, huh?”

Adrien laughs at that, but he chooses to respond to her first statement when he replies, “I kind of realized that you  _ like _ liked me.”

Marinette gives him the stinky eye at his grin when he says  _ like like _ like a little kid grinning after he did something particularly mischievous.

But then her mock annoyance turns to surprise as her cheeks blushed in realization of what he said.

“Wait, you knew?”

It would be too easy to tease her about it – and he has half the mind to do it too – but then after the realization he just had yesterday, he thinks that he’s too soft for her to go down that path.

At least, for today. He knows that he’ll tease Marinette enough about it another day.

“Not at the time,” Adrien explains. And then, he pauses, before he admits sheepishly, “Just a few months back – I think I was kind of slow to notice, honestly.”

“Kind of is being generous.” Marinette immediately remarks, and then her eyes glaze over for a few seconds – like she was reminiscing something – before she points out, “But well, it’s not all your fault.”

Adrien doesn’t know that to say to that. There’s a part of him that agrees – because maybe, just maybe, if Marinette had been more straightforward about her feelings back then, they would have been in a different position now.

But a part of him also thinks that he holds a huge amount of blame. After a few baits to Nino, he realized that their entire class knew of Marinette’s feelings, so really, how dense  _ was _ he that he didn’t realize anything at all?

Or maybe he was just too blinded by Ladybug and her existence to notice.

Either way, the ball had been in his court and he just left it there alone.

And then a  _ bzzt bzzt _ sounded that broke through his train of thoughts. He looked up to see Marinette reach out for her notebook and he muttered a silent thanks to whichever god was out there that he didn’t have to talk about crushes now.

V.

Adrien’s birthday starts out as a disappointment.

He knows that it was wrong of him to think like this, but could anyone really blame him when the first thing he woke up to was Nathalie knocking loudly at his door, tablet at hand, pointing out his schedule?

“Adrien,” Nathalie calls out to him, “You have a photoshoot today with Vincent after school.”

There was no  _ happy birthday _ or  _ Adrien, you’re free because it’s your birthday _ .

It’s just like today was another day. An angry part of his mind mutters darkly that maybe it  _ was _ just another day for Nathalie and his father.

He wouldn’t be surprised, if he was being honest. The first few times he recognized this, they hurt him. Nowadays, the feelings died down to flames of annoyance and he’d grown numb to the feeling.

His day looks up, though, when just before he gets out of the car, his bodyguard stops him with a small paper bag and a gruff, “Happy birthday.”

Adrien would’ve embraced the older man if it weren’t for Alya and Nino taking him by the arm out of nowhere. He did manage to shout a grateful  _ thanks _ though and in his mind, he notes that he really, really should treat his bodyguard better. After all, it probably wasn’t in his job description to do this, but he still did.

Reeling in the warmth of someone remembering his birthday, he stops just a few steps away when he sees that in what seemed like a miracle – miraculous, his mind punning almost subconsciously – Marinette looked to be waiting for him by the entrance of the school building.

“You’re early,” is all he utters – earning laughs and snickers from Alya and Nino, and a raised eyebrow from Marinette – and he has other things he wants to say, something stupid like  _ I really like you _ which he thankfully kept to himself.

He couldn’t help it though, when he drops, “It’s miraculous.”

“That’s a good one,” Nino calls out from his side.

“Keep on insulting me and maybe I’ll go back to sleep instead of handing you your gift.” Marinette tried to look offended – and succeeded for only about three seconds – but then she gave a smile as she also held out a gift in her hand, walking down to meet him halfway.

“I’m sorry, Mari,” Adrien playfully remarks, intertwining her hand with his before she can pull it away and then, he adds, “I’m grateful for your sacrifice.”

Marinette grins at that, amused, and even though Adrien is already thankful for the gift from her, he thinks that he really needs no gift as long as Marinette stays by his side.

Still, that thought didn’t stop him from opening Marinette’s gift right there and then, even so far as him letting Marinette hold onto the Gorilla’s gift for a while.

He couldn’t help the warmth that filled his heart as he saw and felt the scarf that unraveled outside of the gift wrap. Green like his eyes, but with black borders – and the entire thing was  _ handmade _ .

Adrien doesn’t need to guess to know that Marinette took care making it, because it felt warm and nice and soft and perfect and – he’s running out of adjectives at this point.

“Mari, I’m –“

He doesn’t get to say more, because Marinette just gave him a small, almost shy smile as a warning before she took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck.

It was like time stopped.

With Marinette’s eyes on him, soft and kind, and her hands on him, careful and tender, she was – is – everything to him.

“And here is my gift,” Alya says, effectively cutting off whatever moment that was brewing as she dumped a box in Adrien’s hands.

Nino, like the good best friend he was, only brought up his gift still in his hand as he offers, “I’ll carry this to your locker so that you can still see where you’re walking, Adrien.”

Adrien thinks that it was a shame that the four of them were in separate homerooms, but when he walked to the cafeteria during break, finding his class from last year – sans Lila, who had been out doing who knows what – there waiting for him with a cake and party hats, he thinks that it isn’t all that bad.

“Marinette organized this, you know.” Mylene offhandedly commented, as if Adrien needed one more reason to like her even further.

Of course. Marinette would organize a get-together for his birthday. It was just the kind of thing she did for him.

The high from school plummeted by the time evening arrived. He kind of felt ungrateful because despite being at work, the people there greeted him for his birthday and the entire place even spent a few minutes just to sing him a happy birthday.

It just hurt him when he entered the mansion and was welcomed by Nathalie, a small box in hand that suspiciously looked like a box for an overly expensive pen – and a short, “Your father can’t come here for the evening to celebrate your birthday, but here’s the gift he bought you.”

He gave a strained smile before accepting it. Immediately after, he headed to his bedroom with his father’s gift feeling heavy in his hand.

He was still too into his thoughts that he didn’t realize that there was another person in the room – not including Plagg, who, as per usual, would have retreated to the mini-refrigerator – until a voice sounded out.

“How was your day?” Ladybug asks amiably, sitting on his bed with a wrapped box that suspiciously looked like a birthday present.

“You get no points guessing that, Pigtails,” Plagg answers for him, changing course to flop on Ladybug’s lap as Adrien’s eyes widened at her sudden and random appearance.

“His dad was an asshole,” Plagg grumbles, “but you already know that that’s the usual.”

Ladybug hums at that and when Adrien finally catches himself, he says the first thing on his mind, “Is that a gift for me?”

“Yep, Ladybug brought a gift for Adrien.”

Adrien might be slow, but he wasn’t slow enough not to get that.

And, he might be a bit too excited to get another gift from her to call her out on it.

Ladybug might have noticed his excitement because she threw the wrapped gift at him, and as soon as he caught it, he opened the gift.

He recognized the colors – the green and the black – and as he felt the texture, he realized that this gift was also handmade.

“You made these mittens?” He asks her, warmth blooming inside him once again.

“Mittens for the kittens,” Ladybug says with a small, teasing grin. And then her grin subsides to a softer smile as she adds, “It’s a pair for the scarf – if you want to use it, anyway.”

“I want to.” Adrien says, trying to pour all of his genuine gratefulness in his tone, “Thank you so much, Ladybug.”

He thought that this was it – the peak of his happy birthday – and then she just raises an eyebrow as she tells him, “Well, your birthday hasn’t ended yet – so let’s go celebrate it together, Chaton.”

Celebrating his birthday on the Eiffel Tower seems like a dream. However, there were no flashing lights or lit up candles. It was just Ladybug and Chat Noir, with Ladybug handing out a small takeout bag from one of the diners that Adrien usually frequented with his friends.

“I wanted to cook for your birthday,” Ladybug starts almost apologetically, “but I kind of got caught up with a project and the entire thing ended up in a disaster.”

She meets Adrien’s eye as she hands out the utensil and quietly promises, “I’ll make sure to have time for it by your next birthday.”

Adrien wants to say that this was enough – this was more than enough – and even just the thought that Marinette – Ladybug – already has plans for his birthday next year was enough to make him feel like he was flying.

The way she was right now, taking care of him so kindly, so closely – Adrien thinks, hopes, that the reveal had gotten the two of them closer, but he also knew that as much as she can, Ladybug in her own way also tried to look out for him.

“You’re doing more than enough,” Adrien spills before he can stop himself, “You’re always doing more than enough.”

The moon highlights Ladybug’s face and she looks beautiful, so beautiful, with her soft gaze and warm smile, that Adrien almost didn’t hear her utter back, “You’re always doing more than enough, too.”

“You try your best.” Ladybug breaks her gaze away to look at the full moon that seemed so, so close to them. Her voice was honeyed as she tells him, “I know you’re busy, but you’re always trying your best – whether you’re Chat Noir or Adrien. I know that I say this all the time,” Ladybug smiles as she admits, “but I really appreciate you being there for me.”

There were a few more conversations after that, quiet but also seemingly loud. They talked about nothing and everything, watching the stars in the sky as they enjoyed each other’s presence.

When both of them stand up to go their separate ways, he offers, “Can I carry Marinette home?”

“I’m still transformed,” Ladybug was quick to shoot him down, “And I think I ate a bit too much.”

“It’s my birthday,” Adrien cannot help the grin on his lips when he pulls the birthday card, “And I’d really like to take you home myself.”

The two of them had a very brief staring contest. It ended when Ladybug looked like she just realized how late it already was. She gave a small sigh as she called off her transformation.

“I’m spoiling you.” She mutters, but there was no heat to it.

Adrien couldn’t help it when he placed a small peck on her forehead and murmured, “And I’m thankful for it.”

His heart pounded at his own action, but the entire thing felt too natural. An off-trail thought wondered if he would be allowed more forehead pecks in the future.

Before Marinette could see his blushing face, he knelt as he offered his back, “Let’s go, princess.”

The heat of Marinette’s entire body on his back, the way her arms clung to him, her breath on his neck was electrifying. The entire time as Chat raced towards the bakery, he felt his heart pound harder than it ever had in his entire life.

He wonders if Marinette can feel it, but if she did, she never mentioned anything.

When he finally, carefully, reached her balcony, he let her climb down. He had a lot of things he wanted to say, wanted to thank her for a lot of things today, but before he could say any of it, she brought her hands up and stopped him.

“I forgot to give it to you because I was already transformed,” she mutters as she rummages through her purse, “but I’m giving you Marinette’s and Ladybug’s gifts for Chat, now.”

And before he knows it, Marinette hands out two more gifts for him.

Adrien gives out a small, startled laugh – how much could this girl surprise him, really – and asks, “How many gifts are you giving me, exactly?”

“As many as you deserve, Chaton.” And Marinette says this so sincerely, so softly – like she was afraid that voicing this out would do something, anything – as she looks at him.

Adrien thinks that Marinette has his heart – that she would always have his heart – and that the way she treats him is not helping. Adrien is falling, further and further, and further, and it’s not like he even wants to stop.

And how can he, when Marinette showers him with as much love as she does – when Marinette is the person that she is?

Marinette doesn’t know what she was doing (probably) but as she quickly brought her face up to kiss his cheek, giving one last  _ happy birthday, Adrien _ , and then scampering down her hatch without looking at him at all, Adrien knows that she just placed the nails in the coffin.

His feelings for Ladybug had always been strong before he let go. With Marinette, here and now – accepting, loving, existing…

He’s a goner.

The next day, Adrien wakes up wondering how he even made it home when his heart – and mind – had simply been filled with too much love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so so so very self-indulgent T.T part 2 coming up within the week, hopefully!! also if u get the love square agenda in the bday celeb,,,, points for u and me.
> 
> and a very, very big thank you to my super nice beta-readers!! they're [ImSorry ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImSorry/pseuds/ImSorry) who's also a writer here and ThaliaRose from discord! i met them thru the comm channel on the mlfanworks server and they're fr godsent T.T


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